Rowan Barrett was a member of the last Canadian men’s basketball team to make any kind of noise on the international scene, the 2000 Olympic squad that finished seventh in Sydney, Australia.

That showing was followed by a failure to qualify in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and a return to low expectations in the sport invented by one of us.

There is optimism across the nation these days, however, and Barrett is among those responsible for turning that optimism into reality. He’s the assistant general manager and assistant vice-president of Canada Basketball’s men’s program.

A surge of young Canadian basketball talent is responsible for raising hopes. As many as eight could be taken at the 2014 National Basketball Association draft in Brooklyn on June 26, including expected No. 1 Andrew Wiggins, a Torontonian from the Kansas Jayhawks; and behemoth Jordan Bachynski of Calgary, the shot-blocking sensation from Arizona State Sun Devils.

“It’s very difficult to say, but our athletes have performed well this year and over their careers so far and hopefully the best possible scenario will be there for them,” Barrett said during a recent interview.

Bachynski and four other Canadians worked out for the Toronto Raptors last month under the glare of the Toronto media. Barrett opted to skip the circus, but met with Bachynski two weeks earlier at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago and came away impressed.

“He was in great spirits (in Chicago) and I think most important on the court he was playing very, very well,” Barrett said.

Bachynski — whose Twitter handle is@BLOCKchynski — is at 24 the oldest player entered in the draft and at 7-foot-2 he’s also one of the biggest. He’s a man in both age and size but also in life, since he’s married and just last Friday, he became a dad as Kawika John Bachynski was born.

On Monday, Jordan Bachynski tweeted news of a workout for the Detroit Pistons, which comes on the heels of workouts with the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto and the Chicago Bulls.

Prognosticators are guessing he could be a mid-to-late round pick in the second of two rounds. He led National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s Division 1 basketball in blocked shots, with an average of four per game.

The Centennial high school grad would be the first Calgarian to be drafted and play in the NBA.

“He has a definable skill,” Barrett said. “He can change a team’s direction and what they are trying to do offensively. He’s there defensively.

“His shooting and his offensive game is improving steadily. He’s a really good athlete at his size. Hopefully the future is bright for Jordan.”

While the majority of Canada’s top male players continue to come from Quebec, British Columbia and the Toronto area, Barrett did say Thursday there is plenty of talent in Alberta and that Canada Basketball is watching.

“There’s been players who have come out of Alberta and are continuing to come out of Alberta. We definitely keep an eye on that province and work with our scouts to understand who is there,” he said.

Two Canadians have been taken in all of the past three drafts, including No. 1 Anthony Bennett of Toronto by the Cleveland Cavaliers and No. 13 Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., by the Boston Celtics in 2013. Nine suited up in the NBA in 2013-14 and by the looks of things almost that many could join the ranks in 2014-15.

That translates into the possibility that Canada putting a team of all NBA players on the court in 2015 when it attempts to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and end a 16-year drought.

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Canada basketball on the upswing with talented crop of Canucks entering NBA Draft

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